INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS
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BY
FERMENTATION PROCESSES
changes brought about by them. It is now recognized that these reactions are similar to, or in many cases the same as, those occurring during the development of a fruit or vegetable and are natural vegetative processes. As a result of some of these researches a considerable variety of products of industrial importance is now being manufactured by the careful cultivation of a number of these organisms. Since this is a comparatively new field, it can safely be assumed that with time the number of compounds produced by such methods will be greatly enlarged. The prob ability of this is increased by the fact that the raw materials for such processes are gen erally of American agricultural origin, thus re moving any dependence on foreign products. Chas. Pfizer & Co., Inc. has been one of the leaders in this field and is at present pro ducing Citric Acid, Gluconic Acid, Fumaric Acid, and Oxalic Acid by such methods. From these acids a wide variety of derivatives is being manufactured. A well-trained research staff is engaged in the improvement of present processes and in the development of new products. Results in many of these latter in vestigations indicate that products of possible importance in a variety of fields will in time be made available.
Ί ^ Τ Ό Α Η has received credit for one of the X ^ l earliest recorded chemical discoveries. He found that under some conditions grape juice underwent a change and the resulting product, when imbibed, produced a pleasant physiological effect entirely different from that which the original juice gave. Unfor tunately, as a result of continuing his testing "not wisely but too well", he has receivea some undesirable notoriety. It was also observed at an early date that sometimes fruit juices underwent another type of change which resulted in the develop ment of sourness. Milk was also found to be come sour on storage. Since the resulting prod ucts found practical use, empirical methods of regulating these alterations were developed. Not until the investigation of Pasteur was it recognized that these changes were due to the growth of various microscopic organisms. It had been noticed earlier, however, that the development of visible organisms, termed molds, also resulted in changes of the medium on which they grew. Since Pasteur a large number of experi menters have developed methods not only of preventing, but also of encouraging, the growth of these organisms, both visible and microscopic. Others nave studied the chemiral
MANUFACTURING
C H E M I S T S
CHAS . PFIZER & CO., INC. 8 1 MAIDEN LANE, NEW YORK
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4 4 4 W. G R A N D A V E . , C H I C A G O , I L L .
1942
